AI giant Perplexity taps London startup Valarian in sovereign tech drive October 20, 2026 US AI giant Perplexity has struck a deal with London-based startup Valarian to bring its technology into the UK government and defence systems, a major boost to Britain’s ambition to reduce its reliance on foreign tech infrastructure. The partnership will let governments and businesses handling sensitive information deploy Perplexity’s AI within their own infrastructure, keeping [...]
Healey’s cost of living battle just got harder as workers face ‘real terms pay cut’ October 20, 2026 Andy Burnham and John Healey have spoken at length about efforts to provide “breathing space” to both households and businesses. This task at next week’s Budget has now become more difficult. Over the summer the jobs market continued to weaken. Workers are at risk of being worse off while job seekers are finding it harder [...]
Thames Water could tap Labour peer as chair if rescue deal goes ahead October 20, 2026 Thames Water will appoint a Labour peer to become its new chair if a rescue deal goes ahead, a group of its creditors has said, as the embattled utility fights to stave off nationalisation. London & Valley Water, a consortium of investors and creditors to Thames Water which has submitted turnaround plans to keep the [...]
Cornish Metals kickstarts share sale to reopen historic tin mine October 20, 2026 A Cornish mining company is seeking to raise £135m in an attempt to finance the reopening of the historic South Crofty tin mine and end the UK’s reliance on foreign imports. Cornish Metals, which is backed by the National Wealth fund, is selling shares to major institutional and strategic investors, as well as UK retail [...]
John Healey rules out capital gains tax hike in Budget October 20, 2026 John Healey has squashed speculation he will raise capital gains tax in the forthcoming Budget after rejecting calls from his Cabinet colleagues. The Treasury was facing lobbying efforts from top ministers, including Louise Haigh and Wes Streeting, to raise the capital gains tax (CGT) rate from its current level of 24 per cent for higher [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 slides on market pressures; Google Cloud outage October 20, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. London’s blue-chip index are extending Monday’s losses after a bruising showing following tension in European bond markets. A bond-sell off hit Europe following tensions in France after the Prime Minister introduced a curfew to contain explosive riots. The 10-year yield on French bonds – a direct [...]
The Chancellor should be brave and reform the OBR October 20, 2026 Reforming the OBR will take courage, but it would well be worth it, writes Michael Martins in today's Notebook.
When will Burnham bring his whole self to work? October 20, 2026 There have been relatively few Budget leaks ahead of next week’s fiscal event but the little we have been able to discern, while still technically in the realms of speculation, has been depressing. The latest suggestion – that people handing over the reins of a family business to the next generation could be hit with [...]
Meet the man behind London’s biggest new factory since the Second World War October 20, 2026 Isembard’s Alexander Fitzgerald is on a mission to revitalise Britain’s high-precision manufacturing industry. Ali Lyon visits the company’s new London site to talk policy, patriotism and intergalactic growth Amid the whirring sound of robotic machines, Alexander Fitzgerald is excitedly explaining why the only thing on the wall of his cavernous factory is a brightly illuminated, [...]
Why Healey will miss a £25bn bonus from better productivity October 20, 2026 The UK economy’s productivity picture has radically changed in the last year. Maurício Alencar considers what this could mean for John Healey. For weeks leading up to last year’s Budget, reports dripping from so-called Treasury sources insisted it was not Rachel Reeves’ fault that tax hikes worth billions of pounds were on the horizon. The [...]